The Mere Categorization Effect: How the Presence of Categories Increases Choosers’ Perceptions of Assortment Variety and Outcome Satisfaction

What is the effect of option categorization on choosers’ satisfaction? A combination of field and laboratory experiments reveals that the mere presence of categories, irrespective of their content, positively influences the satisfaction of choosers who are unfamiliar with the choice domain. This “me...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of consumer research 2008-08, Vol.35 (2), p.202-215
Main Authors: Mogilner, Cassie, Rudnick, Tamar, Iyengar, Sheena S.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Brands
Category management
Coffee
Customer satisfaction
Experiment design
Flavors
Product choice
Product labeling
Retail stores
Standard deviation
Studies
Supermarkets
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Summary:What is the effect of option categorization on choosers’ satisfaction? A combination of field and laboratory experiments reveals that the mere presence of categories, irrespective of their content, positively influences the satisfaction of choosers who are unfamiliar with the choice domain. This “mere categorization effect” is driven by a greater number of categories signaling greater variety among the available options, which allows for a sense of self‐determination from choosing. This effect, however, is attenuated for choosers who are familiar with the choice domain, who do not rely on the presence of categories to perceive the variety available.
ISSN:0093-5301
1537-5277
DOI:10.1086/588698